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Choosing the right-sized area rug for your space

By Andrea ColmanSpecial to the Star

Fri., Feb. 3, 2017

I want to purchase a new area rug for our living room. How do I choose the right size? My husband thinks that a five-foot-seven rug under the coffee table is fine but I think that would be too small. I have looked at photos in magazines and have seen it done a few ways. Are there any guidelines I should follow?

The right area rug can pull a room together like nothing else. It adds warmth and comfort underfoot, defines and grounds an area, can inspire a colour palette, sets the style for the room and absorbs sound. Designers consider area rugs to be artwork for the floor and will often use them as a jumping off point. From them you have all you need to pull colours for your walls, soft furnishings, toss cushions and art to create a room that is finished to perfection.

Selecting the wrong size rug for your space can make it feel awkward or unfinished. (Dreamstime)

Choosing the right area rug for your space can be a bit intimidating, especially since they can take a big bite out of your wallet. People generally buy too small because five feet by seven feet and six feet by nine feet rugs cost much less than eight feet by 10 feet and nine feet by 12 feet rugs. However selecting the wrong size rug for your space can make it feel awkward or unfinished.

In large spaces where furniture floats in the centre (off the walls), ideally your area rug should be large enough for all four legs of the furniture to be on it.

If your sofa is against a wall, one option is for the front legs only to sit on a rug.

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When you have a small space you can have a small rug under the coffee table, however this may make the room look even smaller. The dimensions should be slightly longer and wider than the furniture and close to the seating. One trick you can use here is to layer by putting a less costly neutral jute under your patterned rug. Another is to lay two identical rugs side by side and use carpet tape to connect them from underneath.

For the dining room, a rug should be large enough for all four legs of the chairs to remain on the area rug when pulled out. If you have a dining table that has extension leafs that you use a few times a year, base the size of the rug on the table’s dimension the other 363 days.

There are many options when selecting an area rug for your bedroom. The most popular is one large piece placed perpendicular under the bed, pulled down from the wall so the side tables are on bare floor.

Using runners at the foot of or on either side of the bed are good alternates for the bedroom.

For hallways you want approximately 75 per cent of the length to be covered, with wood showing on the sides and at either end.

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